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*Chapter 8*

Coming Together



Ginny walked down stairs to find Harry sitting at the kitchen table reading the Quibbler and drinking acup of coffee. He laid the magazine down and looked up at her; she had on a pair of his old jeans and an aged Chudley Cannons t-shirt.

"Hope you don't mind, Icharmed them to fit," she said weakly smiling.

"They look better on you than they do on me." He smiled back at her. "And I can see that you still have your buttocks."

"I sent Humperdinck back telling mom we were on our way," she said getting her a drink of water.

"Ready when you are." He got up and put his coffee cup in the sink.

Ginny was looking forward to seeing every one this evening, it had been a long time since they had all been together. Of course it would still be one Weasley short. Ginny had to admit that out of all her brothers Percy was her least favorite, but he was still her brother.

Ginny and Harry disapperated to a spot a little over a mile away from The Burrow, she wanted to walk the rest of the way. As she walked up the old dirt road to her house, she remembered the first time Harry had come to The Burrow. How she lost her courage and ran back up stairs. It made her laugh. She thought of all the games of Quidditch they had played out in the field in between terms from school, all the good times they had there, and how they all seemed to involve Harry since he came into their existence. Yet something still seemed to be missing, something she couldn't quite place her finger on.

She could hear laughter coming from her house and they were still over a mile away. Ginny turned to Harry.

"Bill and Sara are still here with the kids," she said, her eyes twinkling.

It was the sweetest thing she had heard in a long time. It filled her heart and then it flooded her brain- that would be hers and Harry's kids one day making that laughter to fill her heart. She just looked into the distance and kept smiling.

"Mom's got a feast going on down there. Dad is smoking his pipe, wintergreen. Ron is there too." She continued to think out loud as she kept walking.

'How do you know all that?" Harry asked.

"I can smell them and Ican hear them. Can't you?" she asked him with a whimsical look on her face.

"No, Ginny we're about amile away. I can't do unless I turn into an animagus."

"Really, well I have always been sensitive to those kinds of things," she said, not really realizing that the reason she had always been keen to smells and sounds not to mention she could see forever was because of her animagus form.

"Speaking of animagus would you care to show me?" Harry stopped moving toward The Weasley Palace.

"What . . . now?" She was not really in the mood.

"Unless of course you can't," he said taunting her. "I'll understand."

"I will if you will."

"You're on."

The difference was Ginny did not know what to expect out of Harry he had acquired the skill of metamorphmagus, in Auror training.

"Wait lets stay out in the field I don't want to scare the kids. What are you going to change into?"

Ginny did not notice that she and Harry were being watched from Ron's bedroom window. Ron and Hermione had caught glimpse of them coming down the road.

"I'm not telling."

With a blink of an eye he was gone; he was so quick she did not even see where he went. Ginny started running into the field and took on her fox form as she ran. She stopped crouched down really low she was thinking, 'I hear you breathing Harry, I will find you, I can hear your heart and your smell is the same' she continued to crouch down taking very slow cautious steps. She stopped, sniffed the air, looked around very slowly, she sniffed again. She found him he was sitting in the tall grass in front of her to the left. She could feel his eyes on her; she continued to creep forward just a little. She could hear his heart beating, just as she was about to leap forward, Harry flew out of the grass into the sky. Ginny could see him plainly now, he had turned into a Falcon. Ginny took off running into the open field. Harry followed her gliding inches above her back she sped up.



Ron and Hermione stood in the window both pushing each other out of the way to get a better look at Harry and Ginny.

"Great Merlin look at her run!" exclaimed Ron. "I bet Harry can catch her though."

"I don't know Ronald, afox is very fast." Hermione took Ginny's side.



Harry tried his best to keep up with her, he took back up to the sky. Ginny stopped running to see where he had gone. He was heading back toward the rocks in the field. He landed and sat until she came slinking over. She hopped up on the rock beside him and took back to her human form. Harry sat there for a few seconds before he too returned to his human form.

"Not bad Weasley," he said putting his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"You cheated; you knew what I was going to be."

"So, that was the fun of it wasn't it. It didn't seem you had a hard time finding me."

They got up and continued to walk toward The Burrow. They reached the front yard when Hermione and Ron came busting through the door.

"Bloody-Hell, Ginny you were fast. That was bloody brilliant," Ron shouted as he came out.

Ginny looked at Harry and rolled her eyes.

"Harry I must say she looked like she took it easy on you," Hermione smiled at the two of them.

"Nah, I let her win."Harry winked at Ginny.

"You wish, Potter." She walked past Ron into the house.

Ginny could smell the food her mom had lain out on the table. She walked up behind her and hugged her around the neck.

"Oh mum every thing smells so good."



Mrs. Weasley patted Ginny on her arms.

"I hope it's enough." She turned around. "Ginny what happened to your hair, dear?"

She could see the uncertainty on her mum's face as to whether she liked it or not.

"I like it. I think she should keep it like that," said Harry as he came through the door and hugged Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny silently thanked Harry for his support.

"Yes, well I just am not used to it yet that's all," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed more food on the table. "Where's Petunia, I thought she would come with you?"

"Oh um she and um Remus went Muggle Shopping as he put it today." Harry looked at Ron. He made that sour face as he had done this morning. Hermione and Ginny noticed it as well and smiled trying not to laugh out loud.

"You know I haven't seen Remus happier than when he spends time with your Aunt," said Mrs. Weasley as she flurried around the kitchen.

"Oh, Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she was still bustling around the kitchen, "I almost forgot, Dumbledore wanted to see you and Harry when you got here. He is out in the garden with your father and Bill."

They all walked out to the garden Dumbledore was sitting and talking to Mr. Weasley, Charlie and Bill.

"All were missing is Fred and George oh and Percy!" Ron said looking at his brothers.

CRACK ! . . .CRACK!

"Speak of the Devil and He shall appear, or he sends his demons," Hermione said as a smile came across her face.

"What's that Hermy-on?" Fred said standing there lighting a cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh Fred do put that thing away." Mrs. Weasley came out the door with a tray of drinks.

"I have tried to tell him Molly," Julia said reinforcing Mrs. Weasley.

"Where's George?" Ron asked his brother.



"On his way, I don't think Claire was feeling very well," Julia answered. "But they are coming."

They continued on toward Dumbledore and the others.

"Ah, Harry, Ginny, how are you this evening." Dumbledore looked at Harry over his half-moon spectacles.

"Fine, sir thanks," Harry greeted Dumbledore.

"Well I think we will wait on George before we begin," Dumbledore said. "Ginny a word please, if you will."He took Ginny to the side.

"What is he talking about, before we begin," Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Well I suppose he wants to discuss the matter of Ginny and Harry. Wouldn't you think?"

"Yah, you're probably right," Ron said nodding his head vigorously.

CRACK! . . . CRACK!

"Sorry we're late, but Claire here is a bit tired," George remarked as they walked towards the table that was set up outside.

"Claire dear, if you want to go upstairs and lay down I am sure Winky would look after you." Mrs. Weasley kissed her daughter-in-law on the cheek.

"I might take you up on that in a bit Molly," Claire said taking a seat in a lawn chair, George propping a stool under her feet.

"I trust you are doing well Claire," Dumbledore said with a trace of concern.

"Just a bit tired, that's all."

"Can Dobby get Claire Weasley anything?" The little house elf rushed to her side.

"Yes, please Dobby I would like some lemonade, if you don't mind."

Mrs. Weasley informed everybody that the food was ready as she floated the kitchen table out to the garden.

Every one sat down to eat. Dumbledore sat beside Mrs. Weasley, across from Harry and Ginny. The night air was getting cooler. Mr. Weasley built a large fire in the pit to warm the air a bit. You could tell everyone was enjoying the diner due to the scrapes and clanks of forks on the plates. Everyone had mostly finished eating when Dumbledore tapped his glass with his fork as he stood.



"I have asked you all here this evening regarding some very important news," he began. "Now as I would guess you all have been informed of the situation involving Ginny and Harry."

Everyone was looking at Dumbledore nodding their heads in agreement.

"I am sure you all have many questions to ask. We all will try to figure out the answers to those questions this evening together!" He sat back down.

Fred got up from the table walked over the fire pit and lit a smoke. "Who or what is the Darkness, the prophecy refers too?" he said as he took a puff.

"Well at this time I am not certain Fred. There are still some of Voldemort's Death Eaters around who I am sure will make another stand. But I can not say for certain at this time an exact culprit."

"How will we know then?"Harry asked a glint of irritation in his voice.

"Yah, I mean for all we know Death Eaters might be planning something right now," George said.

"Well if it is left over Death Eaters, they won't be in it alone," Bill chimed in.

"I don't mean to put Death Eaters on the back burner or anything, but I think we are going to be dealing with something or someone much worse," Hermione said taking a drink of her tea.

"I think you are right Miss Granger." Dumbledore got up from his chair and walked over behind Mr. Weasley.

"Well I have a question Dumbledore," Mr. Weasley started, "What should we be doing to prepare for this and protect Ginny and Harry for that matter?"

"I was wandering that too." Charlie said.

"I would be glad to teach her the magic of my native people," said Sara, Bill's wife, she was an American Indian. Bill met her while in the United States on Gringott's business. She was very beautiful, long dark hair that came to her waist and very dark eyes, darker than the night sky. She spoke with such depth in her voice it commanded every ones attention.

"Yes I think that would be wise," Dumbledore agreed.

"What about Dobby?" Harry asked. "Where does he fit in all of this?"

"Well Dobby as you know has agreed to help thru own his own accord. Now I don't know if you all know it, but that is saying something,"Dumbledore paused, "Dobby is not you're typical house elf as you all know, Ipay him wages to work at the school," he said directing his attention towards Hermione smiling. "But Dobby has done something very special indeed; he has committed him self to Ginny so that he may protect her at all costs.

Everyone grew very silent.

"As Winky has done as well. He has done this so no one can make him use his powers against her. You see them being free meant, well exactly that."

"What he is saying that Dobby has his own special magic as powerful as any wizard. He usually only uses it to do chores and menial things like that. But when he was free he could use it as he wanted of course he had to use restraint like we do. But when he is in enslavement he can use his powers to protect those he serves at all cost. Am I right professor?"

"On the nose." Dumbledore put his long skinny finger to his very crooked nose, as he peered over his spectacles.

"So what you're saying is that right now we don't know what to expect but we need to keep our eyes open so to speak," Ginny spoke for the first time during this whole conversation.

"Yes Miss Weasley," he paused and looked at her, "By the way I like what you have done with your hair."

"Exactly what do we need to be looking for?" Ron piped up.

"Well as far as I know we are the only ones to know about the prophecy. You didn't tell your Aunt yet have you Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, sir, I just told her that Ginny and I were getting married," he said.

"Speaking of married, when are you planning to?" asked Mr. Weasley taking a puff off his pipe.

"Well we were thinking of asking Hermione and Ron if they would mind if we shared their wedding." Ginny smiled at her brother.

"Hermione what do you think?" Ron was said with a thin voice.

"That would be wonderful."Hermione smiled halfheartedly.

Ginny got the feeling that they really did not want to share their special day with them. Ginny made a mental note to talk to Harry about that later. This was no the time to bring it up.

"I think it inherent that we keep this here. Of course I will inform, Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Professor Snape. Minerva already knows," Dumbledore continued,"Every body will go on about there daily lives as usual we don't want to give anyone any reason to suspect anything."

"I think that is an excellent idea," said Mrs. Weasley, in an attempt to be brave.

"Dobby will stay here with Winky until you and Harry marries, then they will take up residence at Grimmauld Place," he said.

Ginny and Harry nodded their heads.

"Now if anyone has anything else they would like to discuss, please feel free to come see me, or Ginny if she doesn't mind. We should not use owl post for this." Dumbledore walked around to Harry and Ginny,"You know where to find me if you need me. I must be getting back to the school." He waved his hand and disappeared.

Everyone helped Mrs. Weasley clear the table before she floated it back inside. Soon everyone had left except for the four of them. They straightened up and put away food for Mrs. Weasley in silence.

Hermione spoke first, "Ronare you ready to go? I have to be at the Hospital pretty early in the morning."

"Um yeah sure. So I will see you tomorrow Harry. Ginny if you need us let us know." Ron waved to them before they disapperated.

Hermione did not tell Ginny and Harry bye, they both caught on to that very quickly.

"Harry, I got the feeling that Ron and Hermione weren't too happy about us asking to share their wedding," Ginny said as they walked to the small living room.

"Me too, so I have been thinking about it. I don't want to take that away from them," he said as he sat on the very old pale yellow sofa.

Ginny sat down beside him with her feet pulled underneath her.

"So what do you think we should do? I had a thought myself," she said with a very concerned voice.

"What?"

"Well, I think that we should just have a small private ceremony, with just my family, Aunt Petunia and a few others. I got to thinking about what Dumbledore said about not wanting to raise too many suspicions."

"Those were my thoughts exactly, we can do it before Ron and Hermione's wedding. Let's say at the end of November. That will give us time to talk to Ron and Hermione, and your family," he said putting his arm around Ginny.

She lay her head on Harry's chest and said, "I feel like I am in a big dream and mum is going to wake me up any minute." She let out a long sigh.

Harry kissed on her on top of the head and hugged her with his one arm. They sat there like that for a while, in silence. They both had a lot on their minds. Ginny felt like if she said another word about any of it she would explode.